Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Job Updates, and Changes to my Homesteading Plans

It never ceases to amaze me how one event, or one small series of events, can have such an impact (at least in the short-term, and possibly in the long-term) on a life.  


I wrote my last blog post the day after my group interview for my new job. I felt like it went well, but I had no idea.  A couple of days later, I got a phone call from Sarah, one of the supervisors, asking if I might be interested in a position they hadn't really talked about at the group interview.  I went in for a second interview on Tuesday the 30th for the Shipper/Receiver position.  That interview went very well too, and I was offered the position!  While it is not a management position, it is full-time and it pays decently, especially for a starting wage with a company I am new to.  After several phone calls, emails, and a lunch meeting with the management team, I'm very excited to have been offered this position.  My store manager Eric, and Sarah (who turned out to be my immediate supervisor) have both told me that the receiving position is a very good position from which to learn about internal systems, and to eventually be in a good position to move up to management.


So, this makes a number of changes to my life now, and into the future.  Most immediately, the new job has obviously changed my situation with Starbucks.  I'll be working your typical Monday through Friday, 9am - 5pm schedule with my new company.  And since they're going to be my main money-maker, I'm changing my availability with Starbucks.  I also informed my store manager at Starbucks that I would no longer like to be considered for the position of shift supervisor.  So, I'll be working my new job for about 40 hours a week, and at Starbucks for 15-20 hours a week, at least for a little while.  Being unemployed for those 4 months last year really killed my savings account, so I am going to work at Starbucks until I can rebuild my emergency fund back up to reasonable levels.  I consider having 6 months worth of expenses to be reasonable, so I may be working at Starbucks for 5-6 months, if I can handle 60 hours a week of work.


The new job also may cause me to rethink my timeline for moving to Portland.  When having a lunch meeting with some of the management team I was discussing my career opportunities there.  (Some readers may remember that I was considering choosing Starbucks for the 5-10 year career I think I'll need before I can homestead full time, that focus has now shifted to my new company.)  In that discussion, Eric in a somewhat round-a-bout way suggested that I may want to stay with the Tucson store for a few years.  That if I have a number of years experience with a store that I helped open, and I'm doing a kick-ass job (yes, he really said kick-ass) that I'll be able to transfer anywhere I want if a position is available.  I know, of course, that he doesn't want to hire someone for my position only to have them leave 6 months later, and to be honest it wouldn't be entirely fair for me to do so, so for now I am willing to postpone moving to Portland sometime between 2011 and 2013.  Of course, as I've learned over the years, and especially in the months since I've started this blog... you never know what'll happen.


Briefly, I'd also like to mention that as my plans are now, I will not be applying for the 2011 Bullock Homestead internship.  I think focusing on my career and developing a stable enough income to buy my land should be my priority.  My window of opportunity for the Bullocks really was just in 2010, which is why I took the chance I did with my teaching job when I did.  Now I will find some other way to gain that experience, but for now that option is off the table.


So, to summarize, getting a position I did not even know about within my new company has caused me to completely change my plans with Starbucks, and to postpone my goal for moving to Portland for a briefly indefinite period of time, as well as drop my plans for applying to the Bullock Homestead internship for 2011.  And honestly, all of this change is daunting, but I can tell it's going to be for the best.  My new job pays well, they're taking quite good care of me already, they show promise to be a fantastic company to work for (FORTUNE top 100 companies to work for 13 years running) , and they have a strong presence in the city I wish to move to.  On top of all that, they are all about stewardship of the environment and enjoying the outdoors, a very exciting fact for a permie like me.


With all of that said, I still hope to start blogging more often.  Once I actually start full-time in my new job (Apr 26th) I'll be making more money, and be able to do some of the projects I planned in my 2010 Goals post.  Once I am doing those, I'll have more to write about.  Thanks for reading!

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